Cold, potentially snowy, weekend weather

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Cold, potentially snowy, weekend weather

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – As we are entering the holiday weekend (Presidents’ Day is Monday), I want to give you an update as I see it early Friday morning on our weekend Winter weather potential.

Friday itself will be beautiful with highs around 60 degrees. But then major, very noticeable weather changes happen after sunset. A strong cold front will move through the area after dark from the northwest, with scattered rain showers developing along and behind the front. In Richmond, our best chance for rain showers tonight will be between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Much colder air will move into the region overnight, resulting in a changeover from rain to snow by early Saturday morning.

Colder air will continue to filter into the region on Saturday as a trough digs over us, and that will keep high temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s. Upper-level energy will continue to provide lift over the area Saturday, with periods of light to moderate snow across central and eastern Virginia. Surface temperatures will be above freezing when the snow is falling, so accumulations should be limited to grassy surfaces with wet roads (not icy on Saturday).

I’ve circled in red the energy area of interest aloft that could lead to our snow:

Temperatures will not fall below freezing until late Saturday night. However, if there is any water left on the roads overnight into Sunday morning, black ice patches will form with morning lows nose-diving into the 20s.

Central Virginia snow totals will range from as little as a trace to potentially two inches southeast of Richmond by late Saturday night. Pinning down who will see the most snow out of this is difficult right now because the exact location of a developing coastal low is still uncertain. However, with upper-level energy looking like it will pass over us, we should be able to squeeze out some snowfall.

The rest of Sunday will be variably cloudy and cold in the 30s to near 40 degrees with some flurries tracking southeast.

There are currently no winter weather watches or advisories active for this weekend, but CLICK HERE for the latest. Stay with CBS 6, we’ll keep you ahead of the storm.

Meteorologist Carrie Rose
Keep up with what Carrie is tracking for you on her Facebook & Twitter Pages.